The invention relates to a separating device for separating two zones of a passenger cabin, in particular an aircraft passenger cabin, which is equipped with overhead luggage bins comprising a movable shell. Further, the invention relates to a passenger cabin interior component layout, in particular an aircraft passenger cabin interior component layout, which comprises a separating device of this kind. The invention further relates to a method of separating two zones of a passenger cabin, in particular an aircraft passenger cabin, using a separating device of this kind.
The passenger cabin of a modern commercial aircraft usually is subdivided into various zones, for example, a business class zone located in a front region of the passenger cabin and a tourist class zone located in a rear region of said passenger cabin. For separating the business class zone from the tourist class zone, fixed partitions as described, for example, in DE 10 2008 031021 A1 or WO 2010/000700 A2 and in DE 10 2008 016 419 A1 or US 2009/242149 A1 may be installed in the passenger cabin.
In order to be able to cope with different conditions of use, it is becoming increasingly more important to organize the subdivision of an aircraft passenger cabin into different zones in the most flexible manner possible. For example, it may be economically sensible, from an airline's point of view, to use the largest possible area within the passenger cabin of a commercial aircraft as a tourist class zone at certain times when there is a higher volume of flights, e.g., during the holiday season. On the other hand it may be sensible at other times, for example, when there are lots of bookings by business travelers, to identify a larger area of the aircraft passenger cabin as a business class zone. Therefore, movable class dividers in the form of curtains which are mounted at a desired location in the passenger cabin become increasingly popular. These curtains usually are fixed in the region of a PSU (Personal Service Unit) panel extending below fixed luggage bins mounted in an overhead region above the rows of passenger seats installed in the aircraft cabin.